Rep. Royce examines State Department escapades

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, fired off a letter Thursday to the State Department's Office of Inspector General demanding documents that could explain recent allegations that the State Department and the inspector general muddled a 2011 investigation into sexual misconduct and drug use by State Department employees and contractors, as first reported by The Hill.

In a letter to the Deputy Inspector General Harold Geisel, Royce wrote that he was troubled by reports from CBS News that senior State Department officials may have prevented the Diplomatic Security Service from properly conducting the investigation, as well as the inspector general having knowledge of, but failing to disclose eight instances "in which senior political appointees within the Department 'influenced, manipulated, or simply called off' these cases."

On Tuesday, Royce demanded an explanation from Secretary of State John Kerry for the same allegations. The deadline for Kerry is June 25, and the deadline for Geisel is June 27.

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